Whalebone Box with Polar Bear Claw Finial

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A signature piece using a unique process developed by Bernard Toolie.  Using only one type of fossil whalebone- the center of a whale vertebrae- Bernard fastens the bone to a lathe on what becomes the bottom of the bone box.  Using the lathe to rotate the bone, Bernard skilfully forms what he calls a "bone box." This particular box is finished with a polar bear claw finial (taken from a subsistence hunt).